[RACE REPORT] An unlikely PR: The Mustache Dash 5k

Home > Race Schedules & Reports > 2014 > The Mustache Dash 5k

The event's official site can be found HERE.

The resulting race day goodies.

Local runners may be familiar with this one; perhaps one of the more popular themed races is the Mustache Dash 5k. This year there are five offerings throughout the midwest, including Omaha, St. Louis, Wichita, Tulsa (OK), and Leawood (KS). This one will, of course, be covering the KC-area version, Leawood.

Pre Race
          Course Preview
Link to this route in Google Maps can be found HERE.
For my in-depth course preview write-up, visit the course preview post HERE.

The 2014 route, with Roe climb noted (image courtesy of Google Earth).

          Battling both kinds of cold.
My time spent at the packet pick-up (this year located at KC Running Company's new retail store -- which is awesome, by the way) was short-lived and sans-pictures. This year, three days out, I came under the spell of a nasty sinus infection. By Friday, my race plans were tentative, as any prolonged time spent vertical left my sinuses throbbing and my head spinning. Certainly running in this condition was next to physically impossible. The final days of the week presented with dreary and cold conditions as well -- which wasn't helping.

Jump to Friday morning, 6:30am, and I woke up surprisingly clear. No, I wasn't anywhere near 100%, but I could stand. Therefore, I would run. The only concern at this point: barely-40-degree morning weather might put me back under the...well...weather. And only one week until KC Marathon race day? Yikes.

First, our Nation's anthem. That chick next to me
looked way more serious than I (better mustache, too)
(photo credit: KC Running Company)

I jacket-ed up, and nearly succumbed to tights as well (I didn't). Arriving on-site, I could tell the initial adrenaline of waking on race morning was wearing off. Out in the cold, my sinuses (and lungs) were started to argue with me once more. My head swimming, I barely got in a warm-up run, misplacing the correct start time by about 30 minutes. I got in as many strides as I could before it was time to line up. This wasn't going to be pretty...

Race Day

The start line was still cold, even after a warm-up. Some of that could still have been the infection running through my veins, though. Five minutes from start, I had no idea what to expect out of my legs, and my body. I'd been on nearly four complete days of rest, sick during all, and not a solid mile run in nearly a week (I had planned for a long run the day I came down with the illness).

And, they're off! (photo credit: KC Running Company)

The pre-race time expired, and all were off. Within the first 300m, a natural group of five formed. I didn't quite have the speed, so I held off from attempting to stick. By 500m, the group shed two more runners, with myself remaining in sixth (P6). Seventh and eighth were gaining a touch, but I was able to hold well through the first mile marker.

As my watched beeped one mile, I could feel my lungs start to sting from the cold, and the cold (redundancy intended). I ignored my watch -- I didn't want to see how poorly I was running, although I was happy with retaining a top-10 spot. Surely I couldn't keep it for long, with my lungs starting to argue with me (but, surprisingly, my legs holding firm).

North on Nall, P6 at this point
(photo credit: KC Running Company)

Beyond mile marker 1, the road began to pick up. Ascents adorned the first mile, too, but nothing that registered with my legs. Ascending toward College Boulevard, my legs still held, by my lungs turned from sting to sear. But still, I pushed, following the turnover of my legs as much as possible.

Turning off of College and to Roe, there was another uptick towards the 2-mile marker. I could hear
the steps of P7 and P8 edging up behind me. Oh the uptick, I was able to hold, followed by a long descent. Here, both 7th and 8th passed, pushing me in to P8. My legs were finally fatiguing, and the quad-pounding of the down-slopes proved painful. Then, the only significant climb on-route hit on approach back towards Town Center. With the brief break for my breathing, I was able to give a slight surge.

Turning on to 117th towards Town Center, I looked back towards the corner -- 9th was a ways back, but if I let up too much I could risk my 8th place finish. Up ahead, I was able to match pace with P6 and P7, but not gain any ground. P5 was losing ground to 6th and 7th, but not enough that I could overtake. Approaching mile 3, the name of the game would be maintenance.

The finish, at a PR 20:16, and in a solid 8th.
(photo credit: KC Running Company)

In through the Park Place parking garage, I did a double-check behind me. I had a good 15-second lead over 9th. Final corner and on to the final stretch, I let up a touch. Then, looking towards the finish line, I saw what I had yet to see ever: 19:50. A sub-20 time!???? For me, over the last year, that was the holy grail. With nearly a tenth of a mile to go, there's no way I could cover 10 seconds or less. But suddenly the sub-20 seemed within reach. Ignoring my watch the whole race, I had no idea how close I was. I started to ask: did ignoring my watch help my time? Or would seeing my watch and how close to sub-20 I was given me the extra push to actually grab sub-20? Hard to tell, but one thing was fore sure...I had to surge now -- a PR was no on the line. I kicked -- hard -- and crossed at 20:16.

Sub-6:30 for the first time ever. The long-awaited PR. I had been aiming for this for seven months now. I had ticked sub-6:30 finally. Now the only next stop was sub-20. Then, who knows. Sub-6:00?? The coveted 5:30??? A door I had been knocking at all year finally chose to creak open. All whilst batting the cold and a cold. Who would've thought??

Race Metrics

• Distance: 3.15mi
• Time: 20:16
• Avg. Pace (Max. 1mi Split): 6:26 (6:08)
• HR Avg. (Max.): 176bpm (191bpm)
• Calories: 356kcal
• Elev. Gain: +167ft
• Avg. Cadence (Max.): 178spm (190spm)
• Avg. Vertical Oscillation: 9.8cm
• Avg. Ground Contact Time: 223ms
• Avg. Stride Length: 1.40m
• Garmin Connect Activity Page: HERE

Keep R/B/S-ing.

-tds

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  _-/<,_

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